‘how ya doin’?’
‘good, thanks. you?’
‘fine, thank you’.
that’s usually how it goes. it might even end after that second line. people say ‘hello’ and instinctively ask the same back. this isn’t a process that is obscure to anyone.
it’s basically obligatory.
and I like that.
but today, while eating lunch with my Dad, I got up to get him some ketchup.
not for me, for him – I hate the stuff.
I stood behind a man in orange talking to a couple in the line adjacent.
they exchanged the formalities mentioned.
and that was nice – I liked that.
but it didn’t stop there.
as most understand the understated end to that greeting[s].
but neither had the heart to be the last one to talk.
to end a sentence without a question mark.
they probably weren’t really interested in the details,
maybe they were.
but what they wouldn’t have is the silence that follows the silent end to a new conversation.
and so the questions kept coming.
the weather, the food, the Cowboys season and the coupons Chic-Fil-A offered.
and they stretched it out until both cashiers took both their orders.
and then said ‘thanks’, they said ‘goodbye’ and I heard one ‘much obliged’.
it was more important for them to not let the niceties drift off,
than to focus on their own things,
what they needed to order,
their own lives,
and the lives of those in theirs.
and I liked that.
I liked that very, very much.
Your story reminded me of when I lived in Odessa, TX for a couple of years in the early ’80s and would drive the back roads to the different gas plants and oil refineries located near the massive cotton fields in that area. As you passed another car, you’d lift your hand off the steering wheel and give that small wave of friendly acknowledgment. It wasn’t a big thing but it connected people. I liked it.
Nice one, Aric. Gives a new perspective to the endless ‘how are yous’ I’m am not or was not fond of
. Gotta thank u for sugaring up the USA experience. X
awww… those were the exact kind of interactions i missed the most while living in oregon. damn hospitality drug me back.
Went to grad school in Middle Of Nowhere, Texas. On my way there for the first time, an old-timer waved at me from his oncoming pickup. Being from Southern California, my first impulse was to flip him the bird. I managed to wave that time and every time after.
A month into my first year I passed a colorful poster advertising a carnival on a telephone pole and a few more on the way to my destination. I took a closer look at one and discovered that it was being sponsored by the KKK. Still, I think niceties, social protocol and small, albeit superficial, gestures have their place.
…but the point is…. HOW CAN YOU HATE KETCHUP ?!?
That stuff is gorgeous!